BJP tries to counter widening influence of the church in eastern Madhya Pradesh

BJP tries to counter widening influence of the church in eastern Madhya Pradesh

BJP tries to counter what it calls the widening influence of the church in the state's eastern belt.

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BHARAT DESAI

December 31, 1995

ISSUE DATE: December 31, 1995

UPDATED: July 1, 2013 13:17 IST

A demonstration against Kerketta's killing in Bhopal

The situation, it seems, was just right-at least politically. Last fortnight, in an atmosphere already vitiated by the recent lynching of a Christian and a riot that saw a number of Christian homes destroyed and people injured, the KSS chief Rajendra Singh visited Madhya Pradesh's Raigarh district. His purpose was one that could only worsen the situation: to boost the activities of the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, an outfit working to counter the church's "efforts to widen its area of influence".

Singh, as a matter of fact, timed his move carefully. Just five days before his visit, a scion of the Jashpur royal family. Dilip Singh Judeo, a BJP MP, organised the latest in a series of reconversion camps at Saraipalli in Raipur district where he claimed to have brought back 2.500 Christian converts into the Hindu fold.

And his plans for the next year which he wants observed as a 'Hindu banao varsh' (convert to Hinduism year) involves the reconversion of over one lakh Christian tribals in the entire eastern belt. As if that were not enough, last fortnight. Judeo told India Today that he plans to mobilise Hindu tribals of Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Bihar to rebuild the damaged Shiva temple at Latbhora village in Raigarh.

The BJP claims to have recently brought back 2,500 creasing of have been lodged with the police against cow Christian converts into the Hindu fold in Raipur district.

A little over a month ago. communal passions ran high in Latbhora after 26-year-old John Kerketta was lynched by a mob alleging that he had damaged the temple. Their only 'witness': an eight-year-old boy who reportedly saw Kerketta with a spear in hand, in the vicinity of the temple, the previous day.

Later, a 200-strong Hindu mob descended on the village and targeted its 18 Christian homes. With elections around the corner, the violence acquired a meaning of its own. Says the outgoing district magistrate, D.P.Tiwari: "Usually, such feelings are exploited on the eve of elections." He ascribes the incidents in Latbhora to the growth of the church into a powerful organisation and the resultant backlash from a resurgent Hindu community.

Tiwari's statement haslobe seen in the light of the fact that the BJP is incensed with the fact that, in past elections, the church's endorsement of Congress(I) candidates hascon-tributed significantly to the party's victory in three Jashpur constituencies. And given the demographic composition of the area, this could be only the beginning of the conflict.

In the entire eastern bell extending from Sarguja in the north to Bastar in the south the area covers seven districts the Scheduled Tribe population numbers about 58 lakh, out of a total population of around 1.75 crore. I lowever. it is in Raigarh district that the Christian presence is the strongest: of the total tribal population of 8.2 lakh, more than 2.2 lakh are Christians.

Judeo reconverts a Christian;

Though such skirmishes were previously rare, the situation has now deteriorated to an extent where an increasing number of complaints have been lodged with the police against cow slaughter, despite the fact that beef is a part of the tribals' diet. Says Deputy Inspector General of Police, Raigarh. Panna Lai: "The Hindu tribals are now being told that it is not good to eat beef and also to report to the police if they find Christians slaughtering cows."

For his part, Chief Minister Digvijay Singh describes Judeo's reconversion camps as a "farce". Says he: "Judeo and the rss have been building up the hatred between Hindus and Christians and Latbhora was a result of this fascist campaign." The archbishop of Bhopal, Pascal Topno, had warned that "if the Government did not protect the Christians, other organisations were willing (o do so". Topno added that such a move would take the situation out of his hands.

However, following desperate petitions by the clergy to the state and Central governments, Digvijay sent a government team to reassure the Christians. And on the eve of the RSS chief's visit to Raigarh, he dispatched two of his cabinet colleagues Chaneshram Rathia and Ratnesh Solomon - to make an on-the-spot assessment of the problem.

Though Digvijay does not give much credence to Judeo's reconversion camps, the BJP MP is confident that his movement against the Christians who now belong to 46 churches - will pick up momentum. Judeo first came into the limelight in 1984.

The damaged shrine

when he spearheaded a movement by local Hindu outfits to oppose the conversion of Hindu tribals. Its success prompted him to organize using funds mostly from overseas vhp branches what he called ghar vapasi (homecoming) camps, where he claims over 50,000 Christians have been reconverted.

That Judeo's campaign on communal lines was having its desired effect became clear in the 19 9 3 assembly elections when, for the first time, the BJP won all the three assembly seats Jashpur, Bageecha and Tapkara in north Raigarh, where Christians constituted 30 per cent of the electorate.

In fact, tension between the two communities has been on the boil since then and the Latbhora incident was only the latest manifestation of the increasing hatred. Adding to the tension is the fact that the conversions to Christianity created a distinct upper class among the tribals.

with the converts, having gained access to education through missionary-run institutions, cornering most of the government jobs. The equation, however.began to change with the advent of the BJP government in 1990. when Judeo organised two of his most successful 'homecoming' camps with the support of the Sunderlal Patwa regime.

Patwa adopted a strong anti-missionary line after the Supreme Court in 1990 turned down a petition for Indian citizenship from three foreign missionaries based in Raigarh and Sarguja. Patwa vowed to "throw them out". It was only at the intervention of the then prime minister, VP. Singh, that the three were allowed to stay on.

But the BJP onslaught had its repercussions: it led to the emergence of a young and militant Christian leadership, keen to give a political angle to just about anything. Says the superintendent of police. Raigarh, B.B.S. Thakur: "No one can deny that the church has done good work, but the problem is that they tend to politicise everything."

Following the Latbhora incidents, both communities seem to be gearing up for the battle ahead. Judeo boycotted a meeting of the peace committee on October 30, while his party organised a bandh in Jashpur and neighbouring areas on October 31. Says Judeo: "Hundreds of murders take place every day. so why politicise the (Kerketta) murder and underplay the destruction of the temple?" The Christians responded with a bandh in Raigarh on November 9 and a rally in Bhopal.

Given the demographic composition of the area. Latbhora could be only the beginning of a larger clash.

Says the president of the Madhya Pradesh Christian Association. Indira Iyengar: "We have a law against forcible conversions. Why doesn't the Government use it against Judeo?" Says state Home Secretary Vijay Singh: "There seems to be a pattern behind the destruction of temples someone is obviously out to create mischief. We haven't had any problem from Christians anywhere and this business of desecration sounds spurious."

Judeo and his followers are, however, determined to expand their activities to other parts of Chhattisgarh where the missionaries have made a dentin the tribal belt. Incidentally, they refer to the chief minister as 'David' Digvijay Singh in much the same way that Mulayam Singh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh was referred to by the Hindu zealots as' Mullah Mulayam'. Given this scenario, it may not be long before Chhattisgarh too finds itself on Madhya Pradesh's list of strife-torn regions

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